Marc had run an 02 phone shop and Game computer software store before shelling out £90,000 for a 24 Self Video franchise.

They're a chain of automated outlets that let customers take out and return films 24 hours a day. It's a perfectly good idea - so long as the machinery works.

But it stopped working in the run-up to Christmas last year at Marc's franchise in Swindon, Wilts, and wasn't fixed for three weeks.

He struggled on but by March decided he was on a hiding to nothing.

"According to their figures we should have reached about 1,000 customers in our first year," he said.

"But we had just 300 and only about 150 of those were regulars.

"And I had also been told that if our business failed they would buy back the machinery, but they refused.

"It would cost us £5,000 to put it into storage, so we accepted their offer to take it for nothing.

"I'd guess it wasn't new when we purchased it and probably some other franchisee has it now."

It wouldn't be the first time. Lib Dem MP Tim Farron told earlier this year how one of his constituents was saddled with second-hand equipment after buying a 24 Self Video franchise for £127,000.

That poor victim got just £15,000 from the firm when he returned his equipment after his store collapsed.

Tim Farron told the Commons: "It became apparent 24 Self Video had re-sold his equipment and stock for about £130,000 - presumably to another franchisee who could find themselves in the same situation as my constituent."

Labour's Brian Donohoe, a scourge of rip-off franchises, told Parliament that victims of 24 Self Video franchises had lost around £2million.

And he named two banned company directors as its bosses - Martin Reilly and Tony Sacco.

On paper, 24 Self Video is a limited company with a single director, Michael Duffy, 56.

But when we turned up at his office in Knutsford, Cheshire, he denied running the company.

"24 Self Video is just a trading name," he stuttered. "The business is run by the RAS Partnership," And who runs the RAS Partnership?

Yes, it's Reilly and Sacco. When we asked to see them, Duffy said they weren't in. So who owns that black Porsche Turbo with the number plate 69 MR parked outside the office?

"That is Martin Reilly's car," admitted Duffy. "But he's not in."

Then who did we see climbing out of it and opening the office?

"I'm not saying any more," said Duffy, scuttling inside.

But not before we saw a sign above the reception reading "Wok 2 Go", which is another franchise.

If this lot are involved, we wouldn't touch it with the world's longest chopstick.